Cabo Still In Our Minds

I’ve been visiting Cabo San Lucas for 37 years. Back when the roads were dirt and the only real restaurant was the Trailer Park and the only whites were the gringos who came for the big fish, I’d visit with my dad and his fishing buddies. I was 16 when I drove Dad to LAX for his annual trip when he first invited me to come along. All I had with me, in the backseat, was my beige macramé bikini. I fell in love with Mexico immediately as we drove along the corridor between San Jose and the town of Cabo at the first glimpse of the Gulf of Mexico stark blue against the dry dessert.

So, my family and I watched horrified on September 14, as Odile, a category 3 hurricane slammed directly into the tip of the Baja California peninsula, leaving a path of devastation.

Once it was clear Cabo took a direct hit, we looked everywhere for news reports but found few. The airport had shut down; planes strewn on their sides on the tarmac. Friends in town, who were lucky enough to hook up to generators, told me the people in the area were in limbo – stranded without electricity as the storm downed some 2,000 power poles between Cabo and La Paz. Most had no electricity or running water. Many were without basic necessities including food and clothing and even homes.

Many “lost everything except the clothes they were wearing,” says Jennifer Powell, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Riveras who had recently sold us a piece land in Pedregal; a neighborhood walking distance from downtown Cabo.

We had long wished to build a family home there to entice our college sons to come visit. In the future, we hoped they’d return with children and families of their own.

When the storm hit, our own dream was put on hold.

Our builder temporarily relocated to La Paz while evacuating the family and workers. For a while all communication shut down. Finally Carlos Gomez with DYC construction called to tell us that many of his construction workers too lost everything in the storm. He also worried about the throngs of hotel and restaurant workers now without jobs.

It made me feel better to ship over a big box filled with clothing and shoes, and to donate to the families of those who work at Pedregal. (Click here in case you’d like to help too.)

Despite initial looting, as many were desperate, for the most part these kind people are banding together to help one another. “Citizens are out in force helping with the clean up,” says Powell. “They were all meeting at the fire station. Love seeing this spirit of community!”

A storm of this magnitude had not hit Baja California since the 1960’s. I knew this because every fall we’d watch weather reports as hurricanes came perilously close.

After my father’s death, I continued to watch the forecasts each autumn. And still returned to this part of Mexico every winter, with my own kids and husband. We’d stay at my dad’s condo on the beach at Terra Sol. We’d take long walks, climb rocks, relish every sunset and watch the fishing boats heading north on the Pacific each morning at sunrise.

After the big storm, during breaks at the office I would scour the internet for pictures, and work to hold back the tears.

But I know that Cabo, hopefully with our help, will rebuild.

Americans have for so long enjoyed this resort paradise where you can watch the moon rise and the sun set at the same time and then wish on a sky filled with a million stars.

Here’s hoping that for those who love this place – wishes for speedy recovery will come true.

By Cynthia Good